


We Don't Have to Change At All

by windsofsilesse



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Gen, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windsofsilesse/pseuds/windsofsilesse
Summary: Julia manages to bring Julius away from his studies and spend time with him.
Relationships: Yuria | Julia & Yurius | Julius
Kudos: 8





	We Don't Have to Change At All

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year (though i'm a few days off)! this was written for nagamas 2020, for an anonymous person. hope you all enjoy it!

When Julia finally came upon Julius, he was in the courtyard.

It was unusually empty, which made sense considering the rest of the castle was also rather empty. Arvis and Deirdre were out of the country on some diplomatic mission, and with them they took most of Belhalla’s elite soldiers. All that remained were a small guard to protect the young twins and the castle workers.

Julius was sitting in the grass. His legs were crossed and his eyes were shut. He had a focused expression, yet it was more serene and calm than the usual way he scrunched up his face when he was deep in thought.

It took a few moments for Julius to notice her; his eyes snapped open once she tapped him on the shoulder.

“What are you doing, Brother?” She asked softly.

He stared back up at her; Julius seemed slightly irritated at being interrupted. “I’m trying to meditate,” he explained. “My tutor wanted me to practice this before we next meet.”

“Our tutor? He’s never told me to do that.”

Julius tilted his head. “You didn’t hear, Sister? They’re giving me a new one.” He took to fidgeting with his hair as he explained it to her. “His name is Manfroy, I think.”

“Oh… does that mean we won’t have lessons together anymore?”

Julius frowned. “Maybe… but, hey, don’t worry.” He stood up and patted her shoulder in an attempt to console her. “We can still hang out together when I don’t have tutoring!” Julia nodded and held in a sigh. She was young, but she wasn’t unaware that her and Julius’s roles were changing. He was expected to someday take on his father’s place, and he had begun to prepare for this; she could sense this, and she was afraid.

“You can go back to practicing now,” She said, shrugging off his hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Julius hesitated. “No, it’s okay. I was just about to finish anyways.” Sympathy leaked into his tone. “What do you want to do now?”

“Are you sure? Seriously, you can go back if you want,” Julia asked.

“Please, Julia, it’s okay. I was there for quite a while… would be good to have a break.”

“Well, if you insist… come to the wall with me! I want to show you something.”

“To the wall?” He echoed confusedly, but before he could ask any other questions Julia already began to drag him towards the edge of the courtyard, and he couldn’t deny her.

The wall around the courtyard was tall; Julia had to jump to be able to see the horizon above it. The setting sun turned the sky a fiery orange which was being chased away by the darkness of the quickly approaching night. She glanced around the courtyard before tugging on Julius’s arm and bringing him to the far corner of the courtyard wall.

“What are you doing?” Julius asked. Julia put a finger to her lips, smiled, and brushed away the bushes and plants to reveal a small hole. It was small enough to be covered by the plants, yet big enough to seemingly let them through. “Are you…?”

“You asked me what I wanted to do,” she said with a mischievous smile, “so come here.” She started to push herself through the small hole close to the ground; she was glad she was wearing a coat over her robes. Julia didn’t want to hear the scolding she would get from the maids if they found out she had somehow gotten dirt all over her pristine clothing.

“No, Julia, we’re going to get in trouble! Can’t we just do something else?” But Julia had already made it through the cleft in the wall, and was on the other side of Belhalla Castle. On one side, it overlooked a great field that seemed to stretch on for ages; neither of them had seen what was beyond it. “And what if I get stuck?”

“Firstly, we’ll only be out for a few minutes. Secondly, you are not that much taller than me.” Julia only heard her brother’s hesitant sigh. “You’ll be fine, just hurry up!”

“Alright,” he grumbled. On the other side, she could hear the rustling of the bushes, and slowly Julius poked his head out from the hole. He pushed himself along the dirt until his body was halfway out. “My foot is stuck!” She heard more rustling as Julius frantically struggled to release his foot.

She suppressed a chuckle and leaned over to tug on his arms in an attempt to get it free. All it took was a small pull before Julius gave her a weary thumbs up and began to crawl again. “Gods, you baby!”

“Quit it!” Once he got back on his feet, he playfully punched her on the arm. Julia elbowed him back, at which point they both began to laugh. Her previous worries were gone. She could forget about their duties, about tutors and studying and growing up. “So, what’s out here?” he asked.

“It’s a bunch of grass and a hill. But it’s nice.” She grabbed his hand; both of their hands were smudged with dirt from their attempts to escape. Their adventure began with a slow walk, but Julia soon broke into a run which left Julius with no choice but to do so as well.

By the time they reached the tall hill, their lungs were burning. For Julia, at least, it was not in a bad way; the feeling of such exercise was oddly satisfying once she got over the initial wave of exhaustion. Attempting to catch his breath, Julius was hunched over in the grass while she continued to the apex of the hill.

The very last vestiges of sunlight had disappeared beneath the horizon by this point. She heard Julius, still panting, creep up behind her and sit to her left. The moon shone over Grannvale’s forests, their leaves now rendered in oranges and reds because of the autumn season, and its winding rivers. It was as breathtaking as it was the first time she saw the view on a summer day not so long ago.

“Wow,” Julius murmured. “It’s so pretty…”

“And here you were, complaining about me taking us here!” Julia grinned and puffed out her chest.

Julius chuckled softly. “We should get back soon, you know.” She nodded in agreement.

A silence fell over them, though it was not awkward or uncomfortable. They were content with not speaking but simply being in each other’s presence because they were together, and that was all that mattered.

Julia eventually broke the silence. “What do you think is out there?” she asked. “I mean, I know what’s in Grannvale. But what’s it all like?” Another large silence filled the space between their words.

“I don’t know.” Julius turned his head; his red eyes, inherited from their father, shone in the moonlight. “But whatever it is, we’ll see it all together.” He paused. He gazed down at his hands and folded them in his lap. “We’ll rule together, and the people will be happy. That’s all I want.”

“Together? Can that really happen?”

“Of course! I’ll be the emperor, and I’ll make it work!” Julius declared. His smile and his enthusiasm were infectious; Julia couldn’t help but smile herself.

“I would love nothing more than to see that dream come true, Brother!”


End file.
